Wally Decker
Thursday News for March 14, 2024
Expect elevated levels of TREE and GRASS pollen today thru the weekend. ‘Spring’ officially begins next Tuesday, March 19.
Today is Pi day. Check out Pi Day Deals from Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Marco’s Pizza, Taco Bell, even 7-Eleven and Burger King
If you are wondering: Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, or approximately 3.14 (its exact value is infinite and can’t be calculated).
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/food/2024/03/13/national-pi-day-deals/72898764007/
American Red Cross: Local blood drives for Thursday, March 14, 2024
The Middle College at UNCG (Walker Ave, GBORO) = 9 – 1:30pm
Hurley Family YMCA (Jake Alexander Blvd, Salisbury) = 9:30am – 2pm
Stokes Family YMCA (Moore Rd in King) = 1:30 – 6pm
First United Methodist Church in Asheboro = 2 – 6:30pm
Clemmons Presbyterian Church = 2:30 – 7pm
Shiloh UMC (Hwy 150 in Lexington) = 2:30pm – 7pm
Schedule your blood donation appointment TODAY at https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/
Download the Red Cross Blood Donor App or call 1-800-RED CROSS
March Madness Men’s ACC Basketball Tournament in Washington, DC
Thursday games (March 14)
Noon: UNC vs Florida State
2:30pm: Wake Forest vs Pitt
7pm: Duke vs NC State
*If UNC and Wake Forest win their games, they will meet Friday in the semi-finals.
Planning on getting your vehicle inspected soon?
All state car inspection locations must switch from the old dial-up system to ethernet with VPN security…by July 1st. There are about 6,000 service stations in the state that do car inspections, and about a third are still using dial-up, according to the NC DMV. https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/local/state-car-inspections-changes-coming/
Shareholders with Six Flags Entertainment Corporation voted this week to approve a merger with Cedar Fair, the owners of Carowinds.
https://www.qcnews.com/news/local-news/six-flags-shareholders-approve-theme-park-merger/
Summer Music Fest at Carowinds! The park’s new concert series will be held on select Fridays and Saturdays in July and August. The concerts will be included with park admission. One of the bands announced to perform: Skillet on Friday, August 2, 2024.
https://www.carowinds.com/events/summer-music-fest
4 years ago: the US began shutting down due to the deadly threat of Covid-19.
On March 13, 2020, then-President Trump declared a national emergency for the Covid-19 pandemic. No one knew at the time exactly how much life was about to change.
What have we learned from the pandemic? How has your walk with Jesus changed since March 2020? https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/13/politics/covid-anniversary-what-matters/index.html
NC Problem Gambling Helpline 1-877-718-5543
If gambling is more than a game, free help is available at https://morethanagame.nc.gov
Shots fired inside a local grocer? One person is in custody after a gun was fired inside the Food Lion on Westchester Drive in High Point Wednesday afternoon.
Former Rep. Mark Walker will not initiate a run-off in his 6th District GOP race with Addison McDowell. Instead, Walker has accepted a position within the Trump campaign as director of outreach for faith and minority communities “effective immediately.”
What about all those ‘political signs’? Political signs need to come down 10 days after an election. Any sign not removed within 30 days of the election is considered abandoned and can be lawfully removed. For the general election in November, political signs can begin going up in right-of-way’s on October 30 and should be removed by November 15, per state law.https://myfox8.com/news/politics/your-local-election-hq/when-do-political-signs-need-to-come-down-in-north-carolina/
Family Dollar will close 600 locations this year, along with another 300 plus locations over the next several years as store leases expire. Dollar Tree, which owns Family Dollar, will close 30 stores as leases expire.
https://journalnow.com/news/nation-world/business/family-dollar-store-closures-dollar-tree/article
Update on a bill to ban TikTok. The measure now heads to the US Senate after the House voted on Wednesday — with overwhelming bipartisan support — to remove the social media platform from US app stores. Lawmakers supportive of the bill have argued TikTok poses a national security threat and should be spun off from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, because the Chinese government could force the company to hand over the data of US app users.
*TikTok, which has more than 150 million American users, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chinese technology firm ByteDance Ltd.
Unrest in Haiti. The Prime Minister of Haiti (Ariel Henry) stated earlier in the week that he would resign and his government would dissolve once a transitional council had been set up. For the last two weeks, organized gangs have terrorized the island nation – with attacks at police stations, prisons, and the airport in Port-au-Prince – creating a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Nearly 1,200 people have been killed and more than 700 injured in recent days.
BTW: A team of Marines has been dispatched to shore-up security at the U.S. Embassy after non-essential personnel were evacuated from Haiti.
Praying for the people of Haiti. American missionaries trapped in Haiti are begging to be rescued as violent gangs have taken over in the nation’s capital.
It has forced the U.S. to evacuate non-essential personnel. But for some Americans, there is no way out of Haiti.
Missionary Jill Dolan, who helps run Love A Neighbor, a children’s home in Haiti, and her family are trapped there, sheltering in a make-shift motel in the capital of Port-au-Prince… Source: New York Post
